Google has launched two new Internet-connected speakers in its Google Home family called Google Home Mini and Google Home Max, to compete against similar devices from Amazon and Apple.ETtech | Updated: October 05, 2017, 01:06 IST

Google Home Mini is a button-sized speaker covered in fabric exterior that offers same features as Google Home that was launched last year.

The Mini comes in three colors - Chalk, Charcoal & Coral and is priced at $49, roughly the same price as Amazon's Echo Dot, which incidentally made its India debut earlier today. There is currently no word on the India availability of Google Home Mini.

The Google Home Max is a rectangular speaker with superior acoustics for playing music, mimicking Apple's HomePod.

Like Apple with the HomePod, Google is promising that its Max speaker will learn the user's musical tastes so it can become a digital DJ that automatically selects tunes that you'll enjoy. But the Max speaker will work with a wider range of music-streaming services than the HomePod, which is designed to be a companion to Apple Music.

Google Home Max will support music services like YouTube Music, Google Play Music, Spotify and Pandora among others launch. Google is selling the Home Max for almost $399 in the United States, about $50 more than the HomePod. Both speakers are due to hit stores in December.

Max also comes with Smart Sound, a new audio experience by Google’s artificial intelligence, that automatically adjusts the sound quality based on its location in the home, context, and users preferences. The speaker will be available in two colors - Chalk and Charcoal and will be available for $399 in the United States. The speaker also comes with 12 months of ad-free YouTube Music.

Google also announced a partnership with Walt Disney to bring Mickey Mouse and "Star Wars" content to its Google Home speakers as part of an effort to attract children under the age of 13 to use the devices.

Google's voice-based digital assistant will serve as the brains for all the speakers, just as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri run their competing devices.

All three technology companies are trying to establish their assistants as prescient concierges that understand people's needs and desires to help them better manage their homes and lives.

Google is counting on the knowledge that it has accumulated through its dominant search engine to make its assistant far more intelligent than either Alexa or Siri, giving it an edge over its rivals over time.